Hyde on Sunday starter, first series, winning streak, and more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Jordan Lyles is starting Sunday afternoon’s game against the Rays that leads the Orioles into the All-Star break.

Manager Brandon Hyde had confirmed Tyler Wells for tonight and Dean Kremer on Saturday. He wanted to check on Lyles first before making a decision about Sunday.

Lyles will be working on normal rest after starting Tuesday in Chicago and allowing two runs in seven innings. He threw 101 pitches, putting him at or over the century mark in his last four outings.

“Obviously, he threw great, felt good after,” Hyde said. “So, more than likely, he’ll start on Sunday.”

Austin Voth is available in a rested bullpen.

The Orioles return to Tropicana Field for the first time since being swept in the opening series of 2022, losing by a combined score of 15-4. They were shut out 8-0 in the finale.

This is a much different team, winners of 10 games in a row and sitting above .500.

“Feels like a long time ago,” Hyde said.

“We didn’t play very well that series. I remember that. We haven’t played very well here the last few years. Hopefully, we can play a good series this series. I love the way we’re playing right now, and just got to continue.”

The roster hasn’t undergone a major upheaval. Catcher Adley Rutschman, obviously, is a major addition, but the rotation has lost John Means to injury and Bruce Zimmermann to a demotion to Triple-A Norfolk. The bullpen lost Dean Kremer to an oblique injury sustained here as he warmed in the third game. He’s become one of the Orioles’ best starters.

“Just going into that opening series, I had no idea about our bullpen, I had no idea what we were going to do rotation-wise,” Hyde said. “We were going to do some sort of piggy-back with a couple guys. That got thrown out the window. Kremer hurt his oblique. So at that point, we were scrambling a little bit pitching-wise, and I was nervous about what the season was going to look like on the mound, just because we were so inexperienced in the bullpen. But they’ve thrown the ball extremely well, both in the rotation and in the bullpen.

“I think our young position players are continuing to improve. That was a major focus. That’s happening. And our veteran guys have been a huge influence on our players. So, a lot has changed since that opening series for the good, and it feels like a long time ago.”

The longest winning streak in Orioles history is 14 games in August 1973. Hyde can’t recall being with a team that’s won 10 straight.

“This is the longest one, I think,” he said. “We had a nine in Chicago, but I don’t remember 10.”

Hyde has noticed that he’s receiving more messages and ticket requests since his team got hot. The national attention has intensified, too, including today's appearance on MLB Network's "High Heat."

“It’s really nice to hear from people that I haven’t talked to in a long time,” he said. “I have gotten a lot of texts from around the league and friends that I haven’t talked to in a while. I’ve really appreciated that.

“It’s nice to have our team be noticed. For me, it’s nice that our players are getting recognized. That’s the most important thing, is our players are being recognized for what they’re doing. They’ve played really good baseball the last couple months. The league knows that. They’re talking about it. And our players deserve all the credit for everything they’ve done. Just happy for them.

The Orioles have outscored opponents 52-30 during their streak and posted a 2.93 ERA in 92 innings. They’ve won 15 of their last 20 games, 18 of 26, 21 of 30 and 31 of 51.

Their .700 winning percentage since June 11, made possible by a 21-9 record, is the second best in the American League and tied with the Dodgers for second best in the majors. The Astros are 22-8 (.733).

“Our guys are playing with a ton of confidence,” Hyde said. “Our guys come to the park and expect to win. That’s been a real nice change this year. We feel good about who’s on the mound every single night, we feel good about giving guys the ball out of the bullpen in close games. You can feel the confidence in our clubhouse and in our dugout. If we get down a couple runs early, there’s a great attitude and a ton of encouragement. You don’t see anybody down.

“Our guys are just playing free, they’re playing with an edge, they’re playing loose, and there’s a lot of confidence being built right now.”

What about all the people jumping back on the bandwagon?

“They can jump on. I’m good,” Hyde said.

“There’s a lot of season left, but I’m good.”

For the Rays
Yandy Díaz 3B
Harold Ramírez DH
Ji-Man Choi 1B
Randy Arozarena LF
Isaac Paredes 2B
Josh Lowe CF
Yu Chang SS
Francisco Mejía C
Luke Raley RF

Luis Patiño RHP

Former Orioles reliever Shawn Armstrong is in the Rays’ bullpen.

Among the injured Rays are Wander Franco, Mike Zunino, Yonny Chirinos, Brandon Lowe, Kevin Kiermaier and Manuel Margot.